Late Blooming Love
by Priestess Elora
Summary: Are Naruto and Sakura are falling in love, or just falling into a pit of despair? Will develop into slight yaoi/love triangle..PG-13 for later chapters
1. Chp1

LATE-BLOOMING LOVE

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((Author's Note: This story changes back and forth between Naruto and Sakura's viewpoints, so don't get freaked out, hehe!))

One day, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke each woke up in their homes to find a note plastered on their doors which read:

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MEET AT LEIKO LAKE FOR IMPORTANT MISSION AS SOON AS AWAKE. NARUTO, I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVEN'T EATEN YET. COME NOW.

-Kakashi-Sensei

Naruto eagerly read the note, then groaned as he finished it. "Aww...I haven't eaten! AND I haven't made myself presentable for Sakura..." he scrambled frantically to get dressed, comb his hair and eat two bowls of ramen at once all in the course of ten minutes. 

He finally stumbled out of the house, slightly disgruntled, but ready for a nice day with Sakura. He didn't like to admit it, but now as he was getting older he realized that his love for Sakura was growing. It embarrassed him, true, but it simply inspired him to better with his training.

After walking in deep thought for about 30 minutes, Naruto realized his mistake: He had passed Leiko Lake about fifteen times. He pinched himself to get his thoughts back to the real world, but as he walked back to Leiko Lake, he found a few thoughts straying to the subject of Sakura..her lovely long hair trailing behind her in the wind...the way her eyes glittered when she accomplished something....Naruto shook his head and snapped out of it. Whatever this strange mission was, he would complete it for Sakura.

Moments later, Naruto arrived to find Sasuke, Kakashi, and Sakura glaring at him. "NARUTO!!!! YOU BAKA*!! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?? YOU'VE HELD US UP, YOU IDIOT!!"

Bellowed Sakura, secretly beaming inside at yelling at a boy. How she loved to order him around! 

"I...I'm..really sorry, Sakura-Chan.." Naruto piped as he rubbed the back of his head in embarassment and blushed. Wait....WAS he blushing?? He was! Inner Sakura was also blushing, because though Naruto had been a lifetime pest to her. she found him growing cuter, herself admiring him. No. She MUSTN'T think like that. If this were to develop into love...well, it would get into the way..She wouldn't let it happen...she just wouldn't.

"Anyway, BACK TO BUSINESS!!" yelled Kakashi and Sasuke simultaneously with glares at Naruto and Sakura, who were now both blushing.

"Now, students, our task for today is to catch as many fish as possible. At one time, something will happen to one of us, which will be a test of love. Here are your fishing rods, the bait is there...I will return in two hours exactly. Now GET STARTED!" Kakashi said half calmly, half annoyed. 

With that, Kakashi-Sensei walked off, hands in pockets as usual. Sasuke instantly cast his rod into the peacefully trickling lake. Naruto and Sakura started arguing about how everything was each other's faults. But then..no...he must be imagining things...but he wasn't! Naruto caught a look of embarassment and apology in Sakura's lovely eyes...no. He shouldn't get his hopes up. But if he wasn't mistaken...could it be that his love for Sakura..was finally being returned to him??


	2. Chp2

LATE-BLOOMING LOVE CHP.2

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About half an hour later, Sasuke had caught five huge catfish, Sakura had caught two smallish fish, and Naruto...well, you know Naruto...He didn't have any. In fact, he was sleeping with the rod in his hand and a tiny dribble of drool coming out of his mouth...Sasuke just sat there shaking his head at how insolent the other two were, and Sakura was concentrating on reeling in what she believed to be a very very large fish. 

"GUYS, HELP ME REEL THIS THING IN!!! ITS HUGE!!" Sakura cried, startling Naruto into waking up. Trying to show off for Sakura, he said coolly, "Here, lemme take care of it for you." Sasuke got up and tried to help, but Naruto wouldn't let him. He grabbed the rod, and, trying to act suave, yanked it. Whatever Sakura had hooked on the line was angered by this and pulled Naruto and the rod into the fastly flowing lake! 

Naruto paddled up and down frantically. "HEEELP!! CAAANT SSSWWWIIIM!!" Naruto sputtered and gurgled, barely managing to keep his head above the water. Sakura shrieked and ran to the waters edge and began to attempt to pull Naruto out of the water. She tried as hard as she could, but she just couldn't..She lost her grasp on his arm and he began to drift away with the current.

"NOOOO! NARUTO!!!" she screamed. The almost unconscious Naruto, from being bumped around on rocks, looked over to her and thought he saw one tiny, glimmering tear drip down her cheek. The last thing he thought before everything faded was,

"Maybe she DOES love me..."


	3. Chp3

LATE-BLOOMING LOVE CHP.3

"NARUTO!!!! NAARRUUUUTTOOO! TRY TO SWIM! I'M COMING, NARUTO!" Sakura screamed as she ran along the lake's edge, trying to catch up with Naruto. Sasuke had thrown her a rope, which she presently tossed into the water, attempting to let it reach Naruto so he could grab onto it.

"Grab this, Naruto! Please...try!!" Sakura peered into the water to see a sight that pained her eyes. Naruto was no longer struggling against the current, but was floating limply along the course of the stream, being rammed into various rocks on the way. 

Now, if the situation happened to be slightly less of the 'life-and-death' sort, Sasuke and Sakura would've probably been cracking up at the sight. But as I said, Naruto's life was in danger here, so they weren't laughing.

Now, back to Sakura. She cried out as she saw Naruto's body go limp, thinking the worst, that he may, indeed, be dead. (He was never really a good swimmer...) She thought about life without him...the way he wasn't afraid to stand up to people, the way he sometimes made a fool of himself...gave him a cute quality...

But then there was Sasuke. Always down-to-earth, never said anything at the wrong time, and always knew what to do. And he was pretty hot, not to mention.

She shook her head, knowing she had to do _something_, and did the only thing she could think of that could help him in this moment of panic. She took a deep breath and dove into the raging current, trying to grasp a nearby rock. She caught hold of it with one hand, the cold water lashing against her face and stinging her eyes. Sakura felt a burst of joy as she spotted Naruto's body, but the joy faded instantly as she noticed he was caught in something. "Oh, no..please....don't let him die..don't let him drown.." Sakura repeated silently to herself, not knowing whom she was talking to but hoping that some force would hear and possibly come to their rescue.

Sakura decided to dive underwater to free Naruto of whatever he was ensnared in. She grasped the seaweed and ripped each strand of it one by one, the seconds of her breath ticking away quickly.

Sasuke tried to grab Sakura and bring her above water, but it was no use. She refused to leave Naruto to die. Suddenly, a voice cried out, 

"HI GUYS! How's the fishing coming? Oh, need a hand? I gotcha." and Kakashi appeared and simply pulled Sakura, who was clinging to Naruto, out of the water. Sakura dropped to the grass, sputtering and gasping for a breath of air, as Sasuke laid the still unconscious Naruto out on a mat and poured some warm tea down his throat.

Soon, both of the bewlidered and soaked victims of the current awoke and practically sputtered back to life. Sakura instantly started pounding Sasuke and Kakashi first about question's of Naruto's health, then after she was positive he was okay, asked Kakashi about the meaning of putting two of his students' lives in danger. Kakashi merely replied,

"As I said, it was a test of love. I knew that Naruto would almost drown, and to test how much respect and love you have for your peer, I hoped that both of you would come to the rescue...Oh, and Sasuke, I noticed you hardly tried to help Naruto until Sakura became involved..." Sasuke turned away and walked off back home. Sakura thought she caught a glance of him blushing...

Kakashi yelled after him, "MEET AT THE TOWN HALL TOMORROW AT 9:00 AM!" He turned to the other two. "Same for you, kids. Better get going home for some rest now."

END OF CHP.3


	4. Chp4

LATE-BLOOMING LOVE CHP.4

The next morning, Sakura woke to the constant, blaring "BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" of her alarm. Half-asleep, she clumsily dropped a finger on the snooze button.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sakura woke again, not realizing she had dozed off. She yawned, tapping her hand to her mouth. She turned and glanced at her alarm clock. It read 9:30 AM. Slowly realizing it meant that she was late for her mission at town hall, she leapt out of bed, threw some clothes on, and ran out the door, her hair looking a mess. 

"Oh, great. I haven't been on Kakashi's greatest side lately, and if I'm too late, it might cost me dearly.", she thought. With that thought suddenly impaled in her mind, she broke into a sprint, the backpack she had placed over one shoulder slowly becoming disheveled.

When she finally reached the Town Hall, Naruto and Sasuke were talking to an old, poor looking man. Kakashi glowered at her entrance. He gave her one of "his looks", then approached her.

"I..I'm really sorry...Fell back asleep...had to run here.." Sakura explained, quite flustered and pausing in between each few words to pant and catch her breath.

"It doesn't MATTER what excuses you have, you should be more dedicated! Now, if I don't witness FAST improvement from you, I may be forced to..."

Sakura was so tired. She had heard this speech before; she knew what he was going to say. She flickered in and out of listening to him. When finally Kakashi lowered and shook his head in dismay, knowing she had not been listening, he gestured for her to sit down by him on a bench.

"Ok, today, we have a...well...slightly unpleasant quest, but we must get past if before we can get to more advanced work. See that man over there? Well, he's old man Sunandura. He's blind as a bat, and he apparently lost his guide dog. He says it's on the roof of the bank downtown, and he's paying us about a cent to go get it for him. Naruto and Sasuke are getting a description from him..."

At that moment, the two boys approached Kakashi. 

"Oh...ok then, are we ready to set off?"

After seeing three reluctant nods, Kakashi bid Sunandura goodbye, then led the children out of the building.

"The bank is 40 miles away, and we have to ride bikes, or walk."

All 3 groaned and rolled their eyes. Kakashi glared.


	5. Chp5

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LATE-BLOOMING LOVE CHP.5

Kakashi looked questioningly at the boys, expecting an answer.

"Umm...what?" Asked Naruto, Kakashi's stare making him nervous.

"What about the description??" Naruto rubbed his hand on the back of his head. 

"Umm.. I wasn't listening....."

Sasuke piped up. "Not that it would've helped if you did. All the old man said was that it looked like a pink pony. Then he started to explain how he loved fried butterflies in a bit of gravy...."

"Ok, I got it. The man's crazy, and you kids should get used to people like that, you'll deal with plenty of them in your lifetime." Sasuke glared at Naruto, as if to hint. Luckily, at that moment, Naruto was too busy making faces at a barn owl and dancing around.

"Proves my point..." Sasuke muttered. They walked and walked and walked, which gave Sasuke and Sakura some time to think. 

[A/N: Notice I didn't mention Naruto thinking...not like he would anyway :P]

Sasuke thought to himself, and took a glance at Naruto. He was happily prancing...he seemed so cheery today. Or maybe he's just stupid. All the same, Sasuke had to admit, Naruto lightened the mood a little...

Then he looked at Sakura. She too was looking at Naruto, very intently, and...smiling?

Could it just be him, or was one corner of Sakura's mouth pointed up? He should knock some sense into that girl. Quickly he ran in front of Sakura and began pushing her lips down.

"Wha...what are you doing, Sasuk......" She was interrupted because Sasuke's lips accidentally brushed against hers. 

"HEY SAKURA YOU CREEP! FIRST YOU'RE OGLING NARUTO, AND NOW YOU KISS ME?"

Inner Sasuke [A/N:SINCE WHEN IS THERE AN INNER SASUKE? WHY I OUGHTTA...*Sakura clamps a hand over my mouth*]

INNER SASUKE[A/N: *Sakura steps up and says* Before we were so RUDELY interrupted...] was secretly a little happy. He never really had feelings for Sakura, but the kiss felt good. Besides..maybe if he got Naruto jealous of him, he would want him...

Wait...why was he thinking that??? What the hell had gotten into him....


	6. Chp6

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LATE-BLOOMING LOVE CHP.6

About an hour and a half and 12 tired feet later, Naruto and his friends arrived downtown. Kakashi, panting, pointed to a tall gray building about half a mile away. "That's the...bank." he said. Everyone was tired after walking 39 and a half miles, so they nodded to save breath. They were dusty, dehydrated, and just plain..tired! They trudged along silently, and in a moment the faint sound of distressed barking entered their ears. Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked at Naruto. He looked as if he were about to fall asleep and collapse. He wished he could just take him in his arms and..WHAT WAS HIS PROBLEM?? SINCE WHEN WAS HE GAY??

Sakura looked at Naruto, then Sasuke, who was staring at Naruto with a strange longing...hey, what was Sasuke thinking?? He couldn't do that, that wasn't right. Besides, she loved the two boys. If they got together she'd go crazy. But to comfort herself, she thought, "Well, at least Naruto's still straight, so it won't happen..."

[A/N: Oh really Sakura?? *Naruto glares*]

Soon they arrived at the bank. Kakashi said, "We go in...climb to top floor....jump to the ceiling...grab the dog, K?"

The kids looked at him for a moment as if he were crazy, but they just nodded. The walked in the door of the bank, found the staircase, and began climbing. Each step took a stab at the childrens' feet. They were so...tired...

Naruto couldn't handle it anymore...but he must...go on...to prove himself..to Sakura....

He collapsed with a dull thud. Kakashi just kept going as Sakura and Sasuke whirled around. "Sasuke...stay back and watch him...let's go Sakura." Sasuke just kinda stood there dumbly for a minute until Sakura and Kakashi had vanished out of sight.

"Must...control...urges.." thought Sasuke.

[A/N: Short chappie, I know I know, ok?? Just wanted to leave it at a bit of a cliffhanger..]


End file.
